Recently, Birmingham Moms Blog was invited to attend a weekend at Dollywood at the DreamMore Resort and Spa with a few of our sister sites in the City Mom Collective network. And let me tell you… it really was a dream! Dollywood is a theme park located in Pigeon Forge, TN, and is named after Dolly Parton. And let’s just go ahead and say it: Dolly Parton is a national treasure! Rhinestones and all! Many of us visited Dollywood and Pigeon Forge growing up. But after coming here as an adult, it’s even better than I remembered! 

Here are a few things I learned from going to Dollywood…

Easy Road Trip from Birmingham

Pigeon Forge is about a super easy 5 hour drive from Birmingham. Along the way you go through Chattanooga and Knoxville… both great cities to stop in and visit or eat lunch on your way.

Great for Kids 6 and Under

At Dollywood, there are plenty of shows with amazing singers and dancers and big thrill rides like the Lightning Rod and the Wild Eagle. But also, they have an entire section of the park for the little ones! It’s called Wildwood Grove and it was just built in 2019. Iwas designed with the entire family in mind. It’s great for the smaller kiddos in particular because of the low height requirements and all that there is to do. Another area that also offers lots of options for the smallest visitors is Country Fair.

We were particularly impressed with Hidden Hollow, a huge indoor play area for kids to play and parents to rest! 

Kids 3 and under get in FREE to Dollywood. But right now, they are offering free 2020 season passes to kids born in 2015 and 2016. Just register your kids here before March 15 and follow the directions!

Eagle Sanctuary

Did you know that Dollywood has an Eagle Mountain Sanctuary that is a 30,000-square-foot aviary and houses the country’s largest presentation of non-releasable bald eagles? Neither did we! Stop by and see some of these beautiful creatures! 

Theme Park and Water Park

The Dollywood theme park is pretty large and will most likely need two days to get through. There is even an exciting new Flower and Food Festival coming to the park May 8 thru June 14.  Dollywood Splash Country Water Park has an amazing staff of lifeguards and is right next door to the Dollywood theme park. 

Resort Amenities

Rooms

Our rooms included a King size bed and also, bunk beds! 

Pools

The resort has both indoor and outdoor pools. The indoor open is ready all year long! 

Eat and Drink

At the resort, you can dine at Song and Hearth : A Southern Eatery that offers a breakfast buffet and dinner buffet. There’s an all-day dining menu at The Lounge. The resort also has a grab and go place called DM Pantry that serves Starbucks coffee! 

Kids Activities

There are SO MANY things for kids to do at the resort. The have a playground, family arcade, and a Camp DW that plans crafts each day and even does s’mores and story telling at night! 

So Much to do in the Area

While in Pigeon Forge, there are many things to enjoy in addition to Dollywood like… 

Restaurants

We ate at the Frizzle Chicken Farmhouse Cafe and it was not only an amazing breakfast, but also a fun atmosphere! There are animatronic chickens on the walls that sing songs about every 20 minutes or so. It’s hysterical, but also so much fun. 

While you wait for your food, your kids (and you!) can color eggs on these spinning egg contraptions. Then you can take your egg creations home with you!

Dinner Shows

There are several shows to choose from in Pigeon Forge, and we got to attend the Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Feud.

This very southern feud dinner show had great southern food served family style in buckets, but also these singers and dancers were incredible. We laughed the entire show and loved cheering for our “cousins”!

Pink Jeep Tour

We took a Pink Jeep Tour up into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. As part of the tour, we visited the iconic National Park sign and visited the new Sky Bridge that is at the top of the ski lift from Gatlinburg.

These Pink Jeep Tours are only available in the west and in Pigeon Forge! The guides were great and we had fun taking a back roads trail up through the Appalachian Mountains. 

Make Memories with the Family

The mission of Dollywood is “creating memories worth repeating”. There are so many fun things to do with the entire family — you will create memories you will never forget!